Many restaurants copy their in-store prices straight onto food delivery platforms. Orders come in and the kitchen gets busy, yet at the end of the month profit is far lower than expected. The reason is simple: a product sold on a platform doesn’t cost the same as one sold in store.
Why should in-store and platform prices differ?
In store, your costs are mostly ingredients. On a platform, you add platform commission, packaging and, if you deliver yourself, courier cost. And since commission is a percentage of the selling price, the fee grows as the price rises. Selling at in-store prices on a platform usually means selling the same product for less profit, sometimes at a loss.
1. Work out the real product cost
Pricing starts with accurate costs. Write each recipe down with exact quantities and calculate the portion cost with current ingredient prices. Sauces, sides, bread and waste count too. The ratio of ingredient cost to selling price is called food cost and is one of the measures restaurants watch most closely.
2. Set your target profit margin
Decide what share of the price you want to keep as profit on each sale. Profit margin is calculated on the selling price; pricing 30% above cost doesn’t give a 30% margin. The in-store price is:
In-store price = Product cost ÷ (1 − Profit margin)
For example, for a product costing 120 TRY with a 30% target margin, the in-store price is 120 ÷ 0.70 ≈ 171 TRY, or 175 TRY rounded.
3. Find the platform price with commission included
On a platform, add packaging and delivery to the product cost; since commission is taken from the selling price, it comes off the denominator:
Platform price = (Product + Packaging + Delivery cost) ÷ (1 − Profit margin − Commission rate)
For the same product with 15 TRY packaging, no delivery cost and 14.4% commission including VAT: 135 ÷ (1 − 0.30 − 0.144) = 135 ÷ 0.556 ≈ 243 TRY, or 245 TRY rounded. At this price the platform takes about 35 TRY and you keep about 75 TRY per item, the same 30% margin as in store.
4. Manage the price gap
In the example, the platform price came out about 40% higher than the in-store price. A gap like this is normal on platforms, and customers accept some difference for the convenience of delivery. To soften it, you can:
- Sell meals with a drink and side instead of single items to raise average order value.
- Round prices to multiples of 5 to keep the menu clean.
- Put high-margin items at the top of the list instead of low-margin ones.
5. Don’t let campaign prices drop below break-even
Platform campaigns boost visibility, but discounts plus commission eat into profit fast. Know each product’s break-even point: the lowest price that fully covers commission, ingredients, packaging and delivery. Below it, every new order adds to the loss.
6. Review prices regularly
As ingredient prices, commission rates and courier fees change, a price that was profitable yesterday can lose money today. Recalculate your menu at least every three months.
Do the math in seconds
Doing this for every product takes time. With our free Product Price Calculator, enter your cost and target margin to instantly see your in-store and platform prices, the price gap and your profit per order. To see what your current prices leave you, use the Commission Calculator.
The calculations don’t include fixed costs (rent, staff, energy) or sales VAT; we recommend reviewing final prices with your accountant.